hybonix

If you are not willing to take meds, I personally do not recommend a HT as your hair loss could get worse, which would render your investment useless. It took me almost 3 years to come to terms with this fact, and I wish I would have jumped on medication sooner as I could have saved a ton of my hair...

If you are on the fence, I recommend taking the plunge and taking the meds. If you wait, things can get worse.

On 8/21/2023 at 10:31 AM, -TheHairUpThere- said:

If you're paying somebody 20k, maybe a 300 dollar scalp biopsy should be included. I mean, If you're performing actual surgery on somebody's scalp that seems like it should be mandatory right?....At the very least recommended to the patient before they proceed with a surgery date. But then that would eliminate a possible excuse for the doctor if the transplant fails. 

Is this even a common practice for HT clinics? But yeah, don't let the clinic pass the buck. Curious if there are any updates here.

On 7/5/2023 at 7:42 PM, davidjosepha said:

And I noticed you're not wearing glasses in your after pics but you were in most of the before -- did the hair transplant inspire you to wear contacts more? Amazing how improving hair can make one prouder of their appearance and put more effort into other aspects of it.

Keep us updated on the next procedure.

Thank you! I got LASIK as my glasses were super annoying. I hated cleaning them all the time and laying down with them was a struggle. I had contacts, but those also had their problems.

The next procedure is November 13th. I am glad it got delayed as it let more time elapse between procedures to determine if other areas of hair loss reared their ugly head. I am very stable right now, but I would like to lower the left side of the hairline and pack a little more density in the front.

We are looking at doing 1500+ grafts, and I may do another round of exosomes. I want to get a live video of the procedure, so I need to reach out to Shapiro to see if they are open to allowing me to record.

I will open a new thread to document the procedure.

Updates!?

Wow, I am sorry for the lackluster results. The team is correct in saying to wait the full year, but by month 7/8, we should see a good foundation of what is to come. However, the wiry/kinky hair will go away. Mine was like that and it took 13 - 14 months for things to get better. By the second year, the wiry hair was much better, so do not fret there.

Please let us know what Shapiro and Dr Joe respond with.

Ditto. Any updates? Would love to see the final results.

Just now, Melvin- Moderator said:

@hybonix

How have you been man? Long time no see, I’m guessing you’ve probably forgot about hair loss, and you’re enjoying your new hair. Did you ever have the second procedure?

The second procedure postponed to November now. Will have some glorious updates when that happens. I want to record a video but need the okay from Dr. Shaprio.

4 hours ago, Whirlpool22 said:

Question..I know it was a few years ago but did SMG offer any specific packages that either featured Shapiro only or Josephitis only? Were you guaranteed to have Shapiro do part of the work? I ask because I have read that some patients at SMG don’t get worked on by Shapiro at all and it is just Josephitis. I like your setup of having Dr. Ron do part of the work and Josephitis doing the other part. 

You can specifically request Shapiro or Dr. Joe. Shapiro has a longer wait, but that is an option.

THIS LOOKS AMAZING! Congratulations!!! These are great results and you are a new man!!! This makes me super excited to go back to SMG in June of this year for my touch up. Holy smokes though, one of the better results on these forums. A+

Amazing result. Are you getting the compliments of nice haircut yet? Curious on what your friends/family think of your new look! Also, any more updates? Hair still thickening up?

Wow, what incredible results. You now have full coverage, which is the dream! I would love to see another update of your 7/8 month progress. Great work as usual by SMG.

Excellent write up! This is a very detailed report and I loved reading it. It's fun to see more SMG threads popping up now! If you are open, oral min is a lot easier to take than topical. Also, have you looked into taking finasteride as well?

Lastly, do not count the days and just live life normally. Progress will come and you will be surprised at how quick the time does fly by. Excited to see your 6/9/12 month progress report!

On 9/14/2022 at 8:05 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

I have to say it has definitely gotten better. The texture and thickness. Are you still considering another procedure?

I am scheduled for another procedure in June 2023 with SMG. I had to postpone it once more due to another COVID scare...

On 11/10/2022 at 4:17 PM, jonnyjon said:

Looks great man! Nice results! Did the surgeons do all of the actual donor punches and extractions? Or did techs do any of that? I'm avoiding clinics that allow their techs to make any incisions or pulling out of the grafts.

I want to say Shapiro did a good amount of the punches -- well most of them. Dr. Joe did a lot of the extractions as well. The techs did help here and there, but Shapiro was in charge and made his presence known by guiding everyone with the procedure. I felt 100% taken care of.

19 minutes ago, HairRun said:

My review was pretty similar to yours. I also had a weird Dr Diep history though mines is more involved. Matt Zupan is amazing, by the time of my procedure I had been talking to him for a at least a couple hours, for free, he also arranged fin prescriptions for me. 

Dr Shapiro impressed me most than anyone else and in person lived up to the hype. As scientists/researcher I always look for curiosity as an indicator, and he definitely had it. 

I too am considering building up from my base. 

I am glad you had a similar experience! They really are world class and I cannot thank them enough. I love getting the "Your new haircut looks great!" compliments... Still amazed at how much my life has changed.

Looks like shock loss to me. One of the prices you pay for a transplant.

Two Year Update

Next month will be my two year update. I’m thrilled with the results and no one knows I’ve had any work done. I refuse to wear hats and I love getting haircuts now. My confidence is to the roof!

Thank you to everyone for following my story and providing great advice. And…

THANK YOU SHAPIRO MEDICAL GROUP!!!
 

Based on the pictures, this is a huge improvement. You could probably undergo a second surgery if you really want to pack/fill things in. However, this looks like a great result to me and is super natural. Congrats!
 

@Melvin- ModeratorWaiting for Melvin to chime in as well...

18 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

How did your 2nd procedure go? 

I got COVID, so we had to reschedule for next year. It's probably for the best as this will give my hair another year to develop and determine if I need to work on other areas.

1 hour ago, Z-- said:

Agreed with the general sentiment here about this result. OP to reiterate -- you did nothing wrong and this is absolutely fixable. I don't know how many patients the doctor sees a day, but if it is indeed more than one, you deserve a surgeon who will give you 100% of his attention that day, especially at that price point. 

I'd look into ethical surgeons like Konior, Bisanga, Mwamba, Grabel, or Hattengen (esp if you're able to do another FUT). There's other great Spanish doctors or high Norwood doctors, but imo you don't need many grafts to fix this or to be on a 3+ year wait-list.

I'd like to also add Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Josephitis as well. Super natrual looking results.

On 7/19/2022 at 3:48 AM, Style22 said:

Hey @hybonixDid you go through with a second procedure? How’s everything going?

Surgery got pushed to August 4th of next month. Gonna have them add more to my temples and fill out my hairline a little bit. Should be my last for the next 5 - 10 years. Super excited to be back with SMG.

Sorry to hear that you are not satisfied. I would love to see the hair dried out under harsh light so we can get a better idea. If you want a touch-up, which surgeons are you looking at right now? I may be biased, but Shapiro does amazing work that is very natural. However, there is a long list of qualified surgeons that can easily patch that up with some repair work. Shouldn't take a lot to fill it in either.

@PluggedInCan we see some pictures taking farther away from pre-op and post-op? This will give us a better idea of growth as well.

@Style22Month 8? Lol dying to see the results.

5 minutes ago, John1991 said:

At his level of loss, I wouldn't even advise meds.  I think he should try Nizoral 2% for a while to thicken.  If after that it doesn't improve or he has loss, then jump on Fin and Minoxidil.  I didn't start finasteride (.5 every other day) until after 26 and I'm glad I waited.  If you're truly destined for severe loss early on, you're likely worse off than this guy is.

He is young, so the body is still developing. All I know is that most people who wait to take fin end up regretting it and wish they started sooner. As long as you monitor, you will be fine. So, he can try more "conventional" methods due to his loss being so minor. Biotin and nizoral. Could even use some dermarolling or stamps, but I do not want to give bad advice. I recommend talking to a dermatologist or schedule a free consult with an ethical HT surgeon who will give you the best recommendation.

Your hairline looks great! Stick to the meds and see where things go! I got my transplant at 27 which was a bit young, but I literally had no hairline. I had a couple of hairs and was pretty bald, so the juice was worth the squeeze. I didn't take meds until I started researching my transplant at 27, so mine got aggressively worse. You still have a chance to keep a lot of your native hair with fin and min combo. You are in a MUCH better shape than a lot of people and I would wait until late 20s or even 30 to see where you are at. You can always lower the hairline later in life if you are stable and have an idea of how the hair loss progresses. You can always add more with future transplants as well, but having to remove hair is a pain and wastes valuable grafts that are limited...

@James CHere are some recent threads including my own that go over patient's experience with SMG: